Current State of Manufacturing

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June 2017
Suppliers now account for 50-70 percent of a typical manufacturer’s final production value. How U.S. manufacturers manage their supply chains has been the key to offshoring production and will be the key to rebuilding a robust manufacturing sector. Categories: Current State of Manufacturing, Supply Chain

Technological and economic changes have created new opportunities in small-scale manufacturing and the “maker” economy, presenting a chance for communities to make progress on several important economic development issues. Small-scale manufacturing can grow local entrepreneurship and small business, develop or enhance new and existing economic sectors, and revitalize downtowns and business districts. Using tools and case studies, this whitepaper builds the case for why economic development practitioners should be thinking about working with small-scale manufacturers, how to grow the sector, and the particular synergies that are created when locating these businesses in downtowns and mixed use centers. Categories: Current State of Manufacturing, Innovation, Education of Workforce, Regulatory and Policy Recommendations, Supply Chain

Each year, NIST MEP surveys their clients using an independent third-party vendor to obtain a reading of the impact of the services provided. The survey asks clients to report the effects of MEP services on the following possible outcomes: Jobs created and retained; Sales created and retained; Cost savings; Investments. The study’s purpose is to use the client-reported outcomes to estimate the overall effect of MEPs on the U.S. economy. Using the REMI model, the study forecasts the indirect and induced effects of the reported increase in jobs, sales, cost savings, and investments by MEP clients. The appendix is also available in PDF format.Categories: Current State of Manufacturing

Numerous provisions in federal law are intended to support manufacturing in the United States. Almost without exception, these provisions define manufacturing as the process of physically transforming goods. These laws establish a variety of potential benefits, preferences, or penalties based on the country in which physical transformation occurs. Changes in the structure of manufacturing make it difficult to design government policies that support manufacturing-related value added and employment in the United States. Many federal laws adopted with the goal of supporting manufacturing do not take into account the increasingly blurred lines between manufacturing and other types of economic activity. Categories: Current State of Manufacturing, Global Competitiveness, Federal and Industry Collaboration, Education and Workforce, Supply Chain

MAPI and Deloitte collaborated on a study to identify cyber risks in advanced manufacturing. The study examines: the current state of cyber risks facing manufacturers; emerging risks likely to materialize as a result of rapid technology change; and leading strategies that manufacturers employ to address cyber risks. This study delves into executive and board-level engagement, human capital, intellectual property protection, risks in industrial control systems (ICS), evolving connected products, risks in the industrial ecosystem, and the rapidly changing nature of cyber threats. Categories: Current State of Manufacturing, Innovation, Capital and Cost, Education and Workforce

With the release of the 2016 Global Manufacturing Competitiveness Index (GMCI), Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (Deloitte Global) and the Council on Competitiveness (the Council) in the US build upon the GMCI research, with prior studies published in 2010 and 2013. The results of the 2016 study clearly show the ongoing influence manufacturing has on driving global economies. From its influence on infrastructure development, job creation, and contribution to gross domestic product (GDP) on both an overall and per capita basis, a strong manufacturing sector creates a clear path toward economic prosperity. Categories: Current State of Manufacturing, Capital and Cost, Education and Workforce

Cities are finding that supporting manufacturing can help build the urban economy, improve economic equity, and support minority job creation. Urban manufacturing can help counter the trends in land use, global trade and technology that are eroding middle class jobs. This report focuses on the results of EIE's launched pilot programs in four cities to explore how to seed equitable economic development in manufacturing. Categories: Current State of Manufacturing, Innovation, Education and Workforce

Leaders across the country continue to seek ways to reenergize the American economy. To support those efforts, this report provides an update on the changing momentum and geography of America’s advanced industries sector—a group of 50 R&D- and STEM (science-technology-engineering-mathematics)-worker intensive industries the vitality of which will be essential for supporting any broadly shared prosperity in U.S. regions. This report finds that high-value economic growth in the United States is heavily reliant on just seven industries. While the advanced industries sector continues to grow overall in spite of slowing demand worldwide, three auto manufacturing and four high-tech digital services industries are now responsible for two-thirds of that growth. Trends revealed in this report support the need for federal and state-local strategies focused on boosting growth and reach. Categories: Current State of Manufacturing, Innovation, Federal and Industry Collaboration, Education and Workforce

This joint research study between IndustryWeek Custom Research and Kronos focuses on manufacturing strategy, management practices and investment priorities over the next five years and beyond. While U.S. manufacturing employment has declined over the past 25 years, the future outlook is bright. Taken alone, the U.S. manufacturing sector would be the ninth-largest economy in the world, according to the National Association of Manufacturers. This research report details the leadership priorities and investments that U.S. manufacturers are making in new systems, equipment and people to remain globally competitive through 2020 and beyond. Categories: Current State of Manufacturing, Innovation, Global Competitiveness, Education and Workforce, Productivity

Advanced manufacturing drives long-term economic prosperity and growth, and supports the missions of the Federal agencies participating in the NSTC Subcommittee for Advanced Manufacturing (SAM). A foundation of priority technology areas is needed to secure U.S. competitiveness in this sector, from which collaborations between government, industry, and academia may be built. This document captures technology areas in advanced manufacturing that are current priorities for the Federal Government, and are strong candidates for focused Federal investment and public-private collaboration. Categories: Current State of Manufacturing, Innovation

This paper is an interim report on the OECD cross-cutting project “Enabling the Next Production Revolution”. The next production revolution (NPR) project focuses on the technologies of future production, with an emphasis on manufacturing. The background is one in which major science and technology-driven changes in the production and distribution of goods and services are occurring and diffusing widely. Other developments – possibly more significant still – are on the horizon. Such changes will have far-reaching consequences for productivity, skills, income distribution, human well-being and the environment. The more fully governments understand how industrial production could develop, the better placed they will be to prepare for the risks and reap the benefits. Through judicious policy, the opportunity exists now to shape the next production revolution. Categories: Current State of Manufacturing, Federal and Industry Collaboration, Education and Workforce, Productivity

This paper is the first in a series of MAPI Foundation studies whose goal is to shed light on productivity dynamics in the manufacturing sector from the perspective of questions that are unique to the present-day economic and technological climate. The current study makes use of an expanding dataset on productivity growth in detailed manufacturing industries to analyze the industry pattern of the U.S. manufacturing productivity evolution. The results of a dynamic ranking analysis of manufacturing subsector productivity performance, and performance along a number of variables that are known to impact productivity, are first discussed. This is followed by a presentation of the results of estimating one-equation models designed to identify key drivers of multifactor productivity growth and labor productivity growth in select manufacturing subsectors. Finally, modest statistical evidence is offered to support the hypothesis of cross-industry impacts of productivity determination. The results suggest an uncertain outlook for U.S. manufacturing productivity performance in the wake of a sharp deceleration in the growth of labor productivity in the computer and electronic products subsector, which has played an outsized role in total manufacturing productivity strength. Findings point to the need for a program that stimulates capital investment, innovation investment, and workforce human capital in a unified approach for enhancing U.S. manufacturing productivity performance during this period of global integration and disruptive technological advancement. Categories: Current State of Manufacturing, Capital and Cost, Education and Workforce, Productivity

The MAPI Foundation finds that manufacturing's footprint is much larger than merely the value-added at the factory loading dock. Manufacturing plant activities lie near the center of a substantial and complex value chain that is composed of an upstream supply chain that gathers materials and services and a downstream sales chain that moves goods to market and sells and services goods. Manufactured goods are also intermediate inputs in nonmanufacturing industries' supply chains. The MAPI Foundation discusses their major findings in this paper. Categories: Current State of Manufacturing, Capital and Cost, Education and Workforce, Supply Chain

The news that (manufacturing) companies in OECD economies are increasingly bringing manufacturing activities back home has attracted much attention in recent years. Headline cases of a number of large multinational companies have given increased visibility to the phenomenon of reshoring in the (economic) press, academic research and policy discussions. The debate on re-shoring is very lively, but considerable disagreement exists about how important this trend actually is. Different terms such as reshoring, back-shoring, near-shoring and onshoring are often used interchangeably and largely contribute to the confusion surrounding this new phenomenon. This paper brings together the available evidence, not in an attempt to prove who is right or wrong in the discussion - the issues raised by reshoring will most likely not be settled for quite some time - but rather to understand how important reshoring is, not only as regards its impact on individual companies but also from a more aggregate economy-wide view. The paper also discusses the phenomenon of reshoring in more detail, by unpacking the concept itself and analysing the different motivations why companies choose to reshore activities. In doing so, the paper aims to help guide the policy discussions on reshoring in light of the actions and plans that haven been taken by some governments in OECD countries. Categories: Current State of Manufacturing, Global Competitiveness, Federal and Industry Collaboration, Supply Chain

Deloitte and the Council on Competitiveness (Council), as part of their multi-year Manufacturing Competitiveness Initiative, embarked on the Advanced Technologies Initiative study to better understand the US innovation ecosystem, identify the most promising technologies impacting the manufacturing industry, as well as understand current and future trends in US and global scientific research and development (R&D). They interviewed nearly three dozen chief technology officers, chief research officers, chief executive officers, and company presidents from the manufacturing sector, as well as nearly a dozen directors of US national laboratories and research facilities. A set of high-priority recommendations were developed detailing immediate and longterm critical needs to improve the national innovation ecosystem vital to sustaining US competitiveness. Highlights from the study include: The linkages between national prosperity and advanced technologies, manufacturing and the innovation ecosystem; Global R&D trends and America's relative position; Opportunities as well as challenges for US industry; An Industry Innovation Playbook. Categories: Current State of Manufacturing, Innovation, Global Competitiveness

The focus of this article is on Industry 4.0, the next phase in the digitization of the manufacturing sector. It reveals some powerful emerging currents with strong potential to change the way factories work. Most of these digital technologies have been brewing for some time. Some are not yet ready for application at scale. But many are now at a point where their greater reliability and lower cost are starting to make sense for industrial applications. However, companies are not consistently aware of the emerging technologies. Manufacturers should begin today to join the hunt for the best digital talent, and think about how to structure their digital organization. Categories: Current State of Manufacturing, Innovation, Global Competitiveness, Education and Workforce, Best Practices, Productivity, Supply Chain

The production and shipment of goods in the United States is a large, important, and growing part of the economy. Despite the continued growth and long-term health of manufacturing, significant misconceptions remain about the sector's demand for labor and how it has changed in recent decades. This report identifies and explains a major source of misunderstanding in manufacturing. The first section focuses on what effects productivity change, domestic demand, and foreign trade has on U.S. manufacturing employment. Then policy dimensions of these findings are discussed. A brief overview of manufacturing in the United States is also included. Categories: Current State of Manufacturing, Education and Workforce, Productivity

The health of the U.S. manufacturing sector has long been of great concern to many stakeholders including Congress. The decline in manufacturing employment since the dawn of the 21st century has stimulated particular interest and various policy prescriptions. Those advocating for renewed attention on manufacturing argue that the United States is falling behind other countries across a broad set of measures and they argue that this relative decline can be mitigated or reversed by government policy. This report informs the debate over the health of U.S. manufacturing through a series of charts and tables that depict the position of the United States relative to other countries according to various metrics. Understanding which trends in manufacturing reflect factors that may be unique to the United States and which are related to broader changes in technology or consumer preferences may be helpful in formulating policies intended to aid firms or workers engaged in manufacturing activity. Categories: Current State of Manufacturing, Innovation, Global Competitiveness, Federal and Industry Collaboration, Education and Workforce

More than half of manufacturing leaders are planning to invest in advanced manufacturing technologies in the next two years, according to SME's Advanced Manufacturing Media. The findings are part of the organization's Advanced Manufacturing Opportunities Report, which highlights results of a survey of manufacturing executives, engineers and managers on why companies are investing in and using advanced manufacturing technologies such as industrial robotics and additive manufacturing, or 3D printing. See more at www.sme.org. Categories: Current State of Manufacturing, Innovation, Best Practices, Productivity

While U.S. manufacturing has been hit hard by nearly two decades of policy failures that have damaged its nternational competitiveness, it remains a vital part of the U.S. economy. The manufacturing sector employed 12 million workers in 2013, or about 8.8 percent of total U.S. employment. Manufacturing employs a higher share of workers without a college degree than the economy overall. On average, non-college-educated workers in manufacturing made 10.9 percent more than similar workers in the rest of the economy in 2012–2013. This report examines the role manufacturing plays in employment at the national, state, and congressional district levels, including the number of jobs manufacturing supports, the wages those jobs pay, and manufacturing's contribution to GDP. (This report updates an earlier EPI report but includes U.S. congressional district data for the first time.) Categories: Current State of Manufacturing, Federal and Industry Collaboration, Education and Workforce

Job creation and economic prosperity continue to be important concerns for many Americans. While they are cautiously optimistic about overall economic recovery, the American public believes manufacturing is a critically important component of a strong national economy. Nonetheless, Americans still have mixed views about the future of manufacturing. The results of this year's survey — the fifth over the past six years — gauging Americans perspectives on the U.S. manufacturing industry, relative to other industries, reveal that the vast majority of Americans continue to view U.S. manufacturing as crucial to America's economic prosperity, standard of living, and national security. However, less than half believe the U.S. can compete globally in manufacturing. Categories: Current State of Manufacturing, Federal and Industry Collaboration, Education and Workforce

In the spring and summer of 2014 the National Institute for Standards and Technology Manufacturing Extension Partnership (NIST MEP) sought the assistance of the University of Alaska Center for Economic Development (UACED) and its assembled project consortium which included the World Trade Center Alaska, the Juneau Economic Development Council, Green Star Incorporated, and a private sector manufacturing advisory group to assess the viability of reestablishing a Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) center in Alaska.

This report examines ten ongoing regional initiatives that support manufacturers. Drawing on a diverse group of individual case studies, the report identifies the key partners and their roles, the resources they accessed, the impact of the effort, and the prospects for the future. In particular, the case studies often note the many roles that the National Institute for Standards and Technology's Manufacturing Extension Partnership (NIST MEP) centers are playing in the success of these efforts. The report is intended to stimulate thinking among economic development leaders about what they can do to support their own region's manufacturing sector. Categories: Current State of Manufacturing, Innovation, Education and Workforce, Sustainability

This Policy Brief examines data that are more recent and more detailed than data previously used to refute the claims of US manufacturing weakness and present new evidence of its strength and breadth. This Policy Brief updates a 2013 PIIE study by Robert Lawrence and Lawrence Edwards. The results focus on four empirical investigations pointing to the growing strength of US manufacturing, and, in many cases, refuting or updating previous claims. The 4 Signs of Strength: manufacturing output growth, U.S. Manufacturing competitive performance relative to other sectors of the U.S. economy, U.S. Manufacturing productivity growth relative to other countries, and new evidence of outward expansion by U.S. MNCS and economic activity by those same firms at home. Categories: Current State of Manufacturing, Global Competitiveness, Education and Workforce, Regulatory and Policy Recommendations, Productivity

Conditions for U.S. manufacturing are certainly better than they were a decade ago, as employment and output are both growing, albeit slowly. Despite this improvement, there is not yet evidence to support the notion of a U.S. manufacturing "renaissance." As a new ITIF report shows, the data do not support such a rosy scenario. Much of the growth since the recession's lows was just a cyclical recovery instead of real structural growth that will improve long-term conditions, and there is a strong possibility that manufacturing will once again decline once domestic demand recovers. This new report addresses and refutes many misconceptions on the state of manufacturing today. Categories: Current State of Manufacturing, Global Competitiveness, Federal and Industry Collaboration, Regulatory and Policy Recommendations

Surely, the potential of 3D printing (3DP) has captured the popular imagination. From jet engine parts to made-to-fit bikinis, the technology is being hailed as a revolution in how products are manufactured. According to estimates, the global 3DP printer market is poised to hit $6 billion by 2017 from $2.2 billion in 2012, with global shipments of printers costing less than $100,000 expected to reach about 98,000 in 2014, roughly twice as many as 2013. But in the heartland of US industrial manufacturing, 3DP appears more on an evolutionary track, as companies large and small shape 3DP programs—and as 3DP printers, software and materials science advance. To get a clearer picture, PwC surveyed over 100 industrial manufacturers, from small contract manufacturers to multinationals. Based on this survey, interviews with industry leaders and a PwC analysis surrounding the economics of 3DP, this report explores how and why companies are bringing this technology closer to an effective tipping point of adoption. Categories: Current State of Manufacturing, Innovation, Capital and Cost, Productivity, Supply Chain

A country is only as strong as its capacity to build. Managed properly, the availability of low-cost shale gas could catalyze a renaissance in U.S. manufacturing, revitalizing the chemical industry and enhancing the global competitiveness of energy-intensive manufacturing sectors such as aluminum, steel, paper, glass, and food. This report summarizes and expands upon the University of Michigan-sponsored daylong Symposium "Shale Gas: A Game- Changer for American Manufacturing," held on March 28, 2014 at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. The Symposium's purpose: to explore how the shale gas boom can be used to the best advantage of U.S. manufacturing. Categories: Current State of Manufacturing, Innovation, Capital and Cost, Federal and Industry Collaboration, Education and Workforce, Regulatory and Policy Recommendations, Sustainability

In this report, the Hope Street Group frames the systemic challenges that currently discourage able young people from entering manufacturing career tracks. To do so, they interviewed a select group of American manufacturing employers, high school and college-aged youth, education professionals, and nonprofit organizers. The report shares their stories and synthesizes them into common themes, supported by secondary research. Categories: Current State of Manufacturing, Education and Workforce

This report provides an overview of the renewed expansion in manufacturing, examining output, international trade, and the labor market. The steady growth across all three of these areas might have seemed like wishful thinking just a few years ago when manufacturing was hit especially hard. Since the last recession, however, manufacturing output and exports have surpassed their pre-recession levels, and employment has begun to grow again for the first time since 1998. Nonetheless, while the manufacturing expansion is robust, it has not been even across manufacturing industries and the states. Categories: Current State of Manufacturing, Global Competitiveness, Education and Workforce, Productivity

The White House report, Making in America: U.S. Manufacturing Entrepreneurship and Innovation, demonstrates how new game-changing technologies are reducing the cost, increasing the speed, and making it easier for entrepreneurs and manufacturers to translate new ideas into products Made in America. These new technologies are already having an impact, with the growth rate in manufacturing entrepreneurship at its fastest pace in over 20 years. Categories: Current State of Manufacturing, Innovation, Capital and Cost, Global Competitiveness, Federal and Industry Collaboration, Education and Workforce

This report offers innovative, non-partisan, actionable ideas on how to create middle-class manufacturing jobs. The focus of this report is on six ideas on how to accelerate the innovative capacity of American manufacturing's small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Ideas include providing a more flexible education system, certification programs, and access to financing and technology. Categories: Current State of Manufacturing, Innovation, Capital and Cost, Education and Workforce

The Manufacturing Workforce Development Playbook offers strategies and programs that have been successfully employed by industry, education and government to collaboratively solve the challenges of preparing workers for 21st century careers in manufacturing. Edited by manufacturing workforce authority Keith Campbell, with contributions from over 20 experts, this resource brings together relevant data, case studies and expert insights about educating and training operators, technicians and technologists for America's manufacturing renaissance. To view the report, registration is required. Just complete the form and instantly receive your free copy of the PDF edition. When you hit submit, you'll have a choice of "opening" or "saving" the file. Hit save and the PDF downloads directly to where ever your download folder resides. The PDF file is not e-mailed. Categories: Current State of Manufacturing, Global Competitiveness, Federal and Industry Collaboration, Education and Workforce,

The manufacturing sector accounts for about a third of primary energy consumed in the United States. This sector is increasingly relied on to generate energy savings to meet efficiency targets set by states and energy utilities. While most of that effort has sought savings from large manufacturers (the 10% of establishments that account for close to 50% of energy use), more energy efficiency programs are beginning to address the needs facing small to medium-sized manufacturers (SMM). This report discusses barriers, opportunities, and solutions to designing energy efficiency programs that result in significant savings from smaller manufacturers. Categories: Current State of Manufacturing, Federal and Industry Collaboration, Education and Workforce, Regulatory and Policy Recommendations, Best Practices, Sustainability

Investing in activities that support the creation and expansion of high-growth companies and jobs is at the forefront of technology-based economic development (TBED). TBED fosters a climate where new and existing companies that develop technology and continuously innovate will thrive. Understanding the trends that are affecting and influencing TBED can help guide investment priorities for practitioners and policymakers across the nation. Each year, SSTI takes a look back at the past year's activities in TBED and examines the environment to illustrate trends and put it all into perspective. This report includes a compilation of examples in thematic areas from across the country. Categories: Current State of Manufacturing, Federal and Industry Collaboration, Education and Workforce, Regulatory and Policy Recommendations

The Clarion Call, A Look Back and a Path Forward provides a federal policy "report card" of actions (and lack of actions) since the Council issued a clear and concise agenda to policymakers last year, which included a road map to grow the American economy and included core principles and recommendations critical for the United States' long term economic growth and job creation. Categories: Current State of Manufacturing, Innovation, Global Competitiveness, Federal and Industry Collaboration, Regulatory and Policy Recommendations

ThomasNet.com's Industry Market Barometer® (IMB) is an annual survey of buyers and sellers of products and services in the industrial market. Respondents are engineers and purchasing agents, business owners and managers, and sales and marketing executives from manufacturers, distributors and service companies. ThomasNet.com's® 2013 Industry Market Barometer® (IMB) survey of more than 1,200 manufacturers paints a picture of a sector that is reinventing itself every day. These companies are growing, expecting future growth, hiring, and increasing their production capacity to meet additional demand. This report discusses barriers, opportunities, and solutions to designing energy efficiency programs that result in significant savings from smaller manufacturers. Categories: Current State of Manufacturing, Innovation, Global Competitiveness, Education and Workforce, Productivity

This report focuses on both the economic and policy analysis associated with advanced manufacturing. The following key conclusions emerge regarding state policy and advanced manufacturing: States play a central role in promoting economic development and industrialization; This is a new era of industrial development for the SGA states; State policy in support of the advanced manufacturing sector must be carefully coordinated with other public and private entities that seek to promote economic development in order to maximize returns for state residents and the business community; A strategy for fostering the growth of advanced manufacturing should be based on carefully developed strategic plans that build on SWOT assessments of state assets and needs and include quantifiable goals and objectives. Categories: Current State of Manufacturing, Capital and Cost, Global Competitiveness, Federal and Industry Collaboration, Education and Workforce, Regulatory and Policy Recommendations

This report analyzes the "robots are killing our jobs" arguments, shows how they are constructed on faulty analysis, examines the extensive economic literature on the relationship between employment and productivity, and explains the logic of how higher productivity leads to more jobs. The report shows that more technology benefits not just the economy overall, but also workers: more and better technology is essential to U.S. competitiveness and higher living standards. The claim that increased productivity eliminates jobs is misguided speculation. Categories: Current State of Manufacturing, Innovation, Regulatory and Policy Recommendations ,Productivity

Over the last decade, the United States lost about one-third of its manufacturing jobs, raising concerns about U.S. manufacturing competitiveness. There may be insights to glean from government policies of similarly-situated countries, which are facing some of the same challenges of increased competition in manufacturing from developing countries. At the request of the chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) identified innovative foreign programs that support manufacturing that may help inform U.S. policy. Categories: Current State of Manufacturing, Innovation, Global Competitiveness, Federal & Industry Collaboration, Education and Workforce, Regulatory and Policy Recommendations

This report offers observations and recommendations on how to increase small and mid-size manufacturers (SMMs) SMMs' contribution to manufacturing exports; and answers questions related to: the importance of exporting to SMMs with the greatest export growth potential, types of assistance exporters need, the importance of innovation and supply chain for growing exports, and export assistance in a a limited funding environment. The report is in support of a major joint research efforts undertaken by MEP and the U.S.Commercial Service. Categories:Current State of Manufacturing, Innovation, Global Competitiveness, Federal and Industry Collaboration, Supply Chain

Manufacturing has been one of the major bright spots in the economic recovery of the last few years, but this report notes that the importance of manufacturing to the economy is not uniform across the U.S. as manufacturing industries are concentrated in certain locations. This study examines county-level data to assess the importance of manufacturing in local economies throughout the U.S. and find that, although almost all states include some counties where manufacturing accounts for a significant share of jobs and earnings, such counties are concentrated in the Midwest and the South, are more likely to be outside metropolitan areas, and are relatively small. Categories: Innovation, Capital and Cost, Regulatory and Policy Recommendations, Productivity

Manufacturing has been one of the major bright spots in the economic recovery of the last few years, but this report notes that the importance of manufacturing to the economy is not uniform across the U.S. as manufacturing industries are concentrated in certain locations. This study examines county-level data to assess the importance of manufacturing in local economies throughout the U.S. and find that, although almost all states include some counties where manufacturing accounts for a significant share of jobs and earnings, such counties are concentrated in the Midwest and the South, are more likely to be outside metropolitan areas, and are relatively small. Categories:Education and Workforce

This study, gathering data from more than 550 CEOs and senior manufacturing leaders in 2012, is part of a multi-year initiative to better understand the trends creating a hyper-competitive global manufacturing environment. The report examines the highly complex forces driving the future of manufacturing and many of the structural changes reshaping the global economy. Overall, the study indicates that leading nations are making the paradigm shift towards prioritizing the development of talented and skilled citizens, who are the source of their competitive advantage, and benefits from their manufacturing infrastructures and ecosystems. Categories: Global Competitiveness, Education and Workforce, Regulatory and Policy Recommendations

Following a relatively positive year for sales performance and expansion, middle-market manufacturers and distributors are largely optimistic about their own businesses. Yet they are grappling with a variety of challenges in economic conditions, struggles with finding a skilled workforce, and uncertainty about government legislation. According to the 2012 McGladrey Manufacturing & Distribution Monitor report, executives of midsize companies find themselves in an uncertain business landscape. Categories: Current State of Manufacturing, Federal and Industry Collaboration, Education and Workforce, Regulatory and Policy Recommendations

Provides numerous examples of best practice in one or more of ten competitor nations in the areas of: technology acceleration programs and practice; technology acceleration funding mechanisms; next generation manufacturing technical assistance; and connectors. The comparison matrix on p.6 is an indicative summary of what can be found throughout the report. Categories: Current State of Manufacturing, Innovation, Global Competitiveness, Best Practices

While macroeconomic uncertainties still abound, global manufacturers are using the low-growth environment to ramp up their innovation activity, increase efficiency, and add value to their offerings simultaneously. KPMG's new report, Global Manufacturing Outlook: Fostering Growth through Innovation, examines an industry experiencing transformational shifts and the strategies manufacturing leaders are using to adapt to ongoing volatility, drive innovation, and position themselves for both top and bottom-line growth. Categories: Current State of Manufacturing, Innovation, Global Competitiveness, Supply Chain

Manufacturing isn't dying--it's changing. Manufacturing is transitioning from low-tech, labor-intensive industries toward a manufacturing sector that is tech-intensive, high-productivity and innovation (termed as new manufacturing). Highlights creation of comparative advantage, new workforce, America as leaders rather than followers, new manufacturing national policy, etc. Mentions MEP (p14) Categories: Current State of Manufacturing, Innovation, Global Competitiveness, Regulatory and Policy Recommendations

Manufacturing the future: The next era of global growth and innovation, a major report from the McKinsey Global Institute, presents a clear view of how manufacturing contributes to the global economy today and how it will probably evolve over the coming decade. Findings in the report include: manufacturing's changing role, manufacturing is not monolithic, and the new dynamic phase of manufacturing. Categories:Innovation, Global Competitiveness, Education and Workforce, Best Practices, Supply Chain

The 2012 Edition of the Facts of Manufacturing is a collection of the key facts and figures that define the state of the U.S. manufacturing industry. The report provides 65 figures that show the importance of the manufacturing sector and challenges that our industry faces. The first section of the report focuses on the importance of U.S. manufacturing in relation to economic growth, employment, the environment, and trade/investment. Section two focuses on current and future challenges in U.S. manufacturing related to competitiveness, innovation, a skilled workforce and trade. Categories: Innovation, Global Competitiveness, Education and Workforce, Regulatory and Policy Recommendations, Sustainability

The key challenges and solutions outlined in Make: An American Manufacturing Movement appear below: 1. Challenge: Fueling Investments in the Innovation and Production Economy from Start-up to Scale-up Solution: Enact fiscal reform, transform tax laws, regulations and other structural costs to spur investment, ramp up production, capitalize growth companies, and create skilled jobs 2. Challenge: Expanding U.S. Exports, Reducing the Trade Deficit, Increasing Market Access and Responding to Foreign Governments Protecting Domestic Producers Solution: Create fair and open global markets for U.S. goods and services to reduce the trade deficit and increase exports as a percentage of GDP 3. Challenge: Harnessing the Power and Potential of American Talent to Win the Future Skills Race Solution: Prepare the Next Generation of Innovators, Researchers and Highly-Skilled Workers. Categories: Current State of Manufacturing, Innovation, Capital and Cost, Global Competitiveness, Federal and Industry Collaboration, Education and Workforce,

Time is of the essence. Because longer-term initiatives require sustained public support and political will, we need to demonstrate the potential of manufacturing to create jobs now. Over the longer term, however, the U.S. hold on manufacturing must rely not just on a tenuous advantage in factor costs, but on better quality control, customer responsiveness and inter-firm efficiency. Categories: Current State of Manufacturing, Innovation, Capital and Cost, Education and Workforce, Productivity

This assessment of web-based job advertisements, co-authored by Lauren Gilchrist, Ken Poole, and Mark White, examines the characteristics of anticipated manufacturing hiring during the first half of 2011. Manufacturers sought workers for a variety of opportunities, such as: Nine percent of web-advertised job openings in manufacturing during the first six months of 2011 were production-related. These openings accounted for just over 60,000 of the manufacturing sector's nearly 669,000 job openings advertised online between January and June 2011. Categories: Innovation, Global Competitiveness, Education and Workforce

Provides a thorough view on the struggles of today and tomorrow's U.S. manufacturers. Focus areas include: customer priorities through innovation; globally local operations; supply network flexibility; agility on the shop floor and beyond; sustain and partner for scarce resources. Categories: Innovation, Best Practices

China's overwhelming manufacturing cost advantage over the U.S. is shrinking fast. Within five years, a Boston Consultanting Group analysis concludes, rising Chinese wages, higher U.S. productivity, a weaker dollar, and other factors will virtually close the cost gap between the U.S. and China for many goods consumed in North America. Categories: Current State of Manufacturing, Capital and Cost, Global Competitiveness

The report shows how US companies are doing in 20 aspects of environmental performance- from operational efficiency to employee commuting to investments in clean technologies. A majority of the indicators showed declines that can be determined as a result from the recession. The report also highlights the top 10 sustainable business trends for 2012. Categories:Sustainability